3 Learning and Memory

Question 1

learning

Answer 1

way we acquire new behavior

Question 2

stimulus

Answer 2

anything to which an organism can respond

Question 3

habituation

Answer 3

repeated exposure to same stimulus

Question 4

dishabituation

Answer 4

recovery of response to stimulus after habituation has occurred

Question 5

associative learning

Answer 5

creation of a pairing or association; either between 2 stimuli or between a behavior and response

Question 6

Pavlov’s classical conditioning

Answer 6

takes advantage of biological/instinctual responses to create associations between 2 unrelated stimuli

unconditioned stimulus –> unconditioned response
unconditioned stimulus + neutral stimulus –> conditioned response
soon, NS –> CR

not permanent over time

Question 7

spontaneous recovery

Answer 7

after a while, presenting a extinct CS might yield a weak CR

Question 8

generalization

Answer 8

similar stimulus to CS can produce CR

Question 9

discrimination

Answer 9

learning to distinguish between 2 similar stimuli

Question 10

Skinner’s operant conditioning

“behaviorism”

Answer 10

links voluntary behaviors with consequences

effort to alter frequency of behaviors

Question 11

positive reinforcement

Answer 11

increase behavior by adding positive consequence/incentive to follow behavior

stimulus added, behavior continues

Question 12

negative reinforcement

Answer 12

increase behavior by removing something unpleasant

stimulus removed, behavior continues

Question 13

escape learning

Answer 13

ex. aspirin for an existing headache

Question 14

avoidance learning

Answer 14

prevent unpleasantness of something yet to happen

ex. studying for an exam to avoid doing poorly

Question 15

positive punishment

Answer 15

adds unpleasant consequence in response to behavior to reduce behavior

stimulus added, behavior stops

Question 16

negative punishment

Answer 16

reduction of behavior when a stimulus is removed

stimulus removed, behavior stops

Question 17

fixed ratio reinforcement schedule

Answer 17

reinforce behavior after specific number of performances of that behavior

Question 18

variable ratio reinforcement schedule

Answer 18

reinforce behavior after varying number of performances, but such that the average number is constant

Question 19

fixed interval reinforcement schedule

Answer 19

reinforce behavior after specific period of time on a fixed schedule

Question 20

variable interval reinforcement schedule

Answer 20

reinforce after specific amount of time has passed, but at varying intervals

Question 21

shaping

Answer 21

process of rewarding specific behaviors

Question 22

latent learning

Answer 22

occurs without reward, but spontaneously demonstrated when reward introduced

Question 23

instinctive drift

Answer 23

difficulty overcoming instinctual behaviors with conditioning

Question 24

Bandura’s observational learning

Answer 24

Bobo doll experiment

modeling
different than imitation

mirror neurons in frontal and parietal lobes of cerebral cortex fire when individual performs action AND when individual observes someone else performing that action

• motor processes
• empathy/vicarious emotions
• imitative learning in primates

Question 25

encoding

Answer 25

new information --> memory

Question 26

automatic processing

Answer 26

gained without effort

Question 27

controlled (effortful) processing

Answer 27

can become automatic - visual encoding - acoustic encoding - semantic encoding (meaningful context)

Question 28

maintenance rehearsal

Answer 28

repetition of piece of info - keep within working memory - store in short-term (eventually long-term) memory

Question 29

sensory memory

Answer 29

most fleeting (< 1 second) iconic (visual) echoic (auditory) - extremely precise and detailed - stored (briefly) in projecting areas of brain (occipital and temporal lobes)

Question 30

short-term memory

Answer 30

fades in ~30 seconds without rehearsal 7 items +/- 2 limit housed in hippocampus (responsible for short- to long-term memory conversion)

Question 31

working memory

Answer 31

supported by hippocampus similar to short-term few pieces of info in consciousness simultaneously and manipulate ex. mental math

Question 32

long-term memory

Answer 32

limitless, recall-on-demand with enough rehearsal elaborative rehearsal: association of new info to knowledge already stored hippocampus storage

Question 33

implicit memory (nondeclarative/procedural)

Answer 33

skills and conditioned responses

Question 34

explicit (declarative)

Answer 34

memories that require constant recall - semantic: facts/concepts - episodic: events/experiences

Question 35

retrieval

Answer 35

demonstrating something that has been learned has been retained

Question 36

recall

Answer 36

retrieval and statement

Question 37

recognition

Answer 37

identifying information perviously learned

Question 38

relearning

Answer 38

Ebbinghaus "spacing effect" why cramming is never as effective

Question 39

semantic network

Answer 39

concepts lined together by similar meaning

Question 40

spreading activation

Answer 40

one part of brain is activated; other concepts unconsciously are activated (linked)

Question 41

Alzheimer's disease

Answer 41

thought to be linked to loss of acetylcholine in neurons that link to hippocampus progressive dementia and retrograde memory loss neurofibrillary tangles beta-amyloid plaques "sundowning"

Question 42

Korsakoff's syndrome

Answer 42

thyamine deficiency in brain - retrograde amnesia (previously formed) - anterograde amnesia (inability to form new) - confabulation (vivd, fabricated memories) - agnosia (loss of ability to recognize objects, people, or places)

Question 43

decay

Answer 43

usually linked with aging

Question 44

proactive interference

Answer 44

old information interferes with similar new information

Question 45

retroactive interference

Answer 45

new information causes forgetting of old information

Question 46

false memory reconstruction

Answer 46

confabulation

Question 47

misinformation effect

Answer 47

post-event information interferes with memory of initial event

Question 48

source-monitoring effect

Answer 48

confusion between semantic and episodic memory remember details of event, confuses context under which those details were gained

Question 49

neuroplasticity

Answer 49

as brain develops, neural connections form rapidly in response to stimuli childhood

Question 50

synaptic pruning

Answer 50

as we grow older, weak connections are dissolved, while strong ones are bolstered adult efficiency

Question 51

long-term potentiation

Answer 51

as stimulus is repeated, stimulated neurons increase efficiency at releasing NTs and receptor at other side of synapse increases sites